


she tastes like broken dreams

by water_poet



Category: Night In The Woods (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Dreams, F/F, Fluff, Interracial Relationship, Lunch, POC!Mae, Tacos, i love this game, maebea
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2017-06-15
Packaged: 2018-11-14 06:27:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11202336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/water_poet/pseuds/water_poet
Summary: GOD I LOVE THIS GAME





	she tastes like broken dreams

**Author's Note:**

> GOD I LOVE THIS GAME

_Bea? You up?_  
  
_Mae it's three in the goddamn morning_  
  
Mae bit her lip, tucking a strand of short blue hair behind her ears, eyes narrowed in concentration as she sat in front of her computer screen.  
  
_Sorry sorry!!! Just wanted to know if you could hang_ tomorrow  
  
_And this couldn't wait until morning why???_  
  
_I couldn't sleep_  
  
Mae could almost hear her friend's apathetic sigh and roll of her eyes.  
  
_Yeah we can_  
  
_Sweeeeet! See you then_  
  
_Yeah yeah_  
  
Mae gave a contented sigh, closing her laptop. The room faded into darkness, with a thin beam of light from the setting sun coming through her window. She yawned, bending down to unlace her boots and toss them off to the side.  
  
The old mattress springs creaked as she fell back on the bed, stretching. Her shoulders were starting to feel sore. She'd been helping Greg at the Snack Falcon, which, sadly, had just received a shipment of gallon water jugs, which needed to be hauled to the cold room in the back.  
  
"Ugh" Mae muttered, wrinkling her nose.  
  
Snuggling beneath the duvet, she stared up at the ceiling in thought.  
  
Thing had gotten better since that autumn. Contrary to the cult's belief, Possum Springs had not spiraled into chaos. Instead, things remained relatively the same. The new taco joint was plenty busy, which meant Mae could snag a part time job waiting tables. Her great-second-something or other cousin had passed away after a few hears battling cancer, and for some reason or other, she'd left Mae's father a fair amount of money. Not enough to make them rich, much to the disappointment of Mae's friends ("Think of all the tacos!" Gregg had moaned), but it was enough to recover the house.  
  
In short, one might say Mae Barowski's life had taken a turn for the better.  
  
In some ways, Possum Springs had, too. The old Food Donkey was being converted into a bowling center, which Gregg was extremely excited about. He'd apparently rented a suit and spoken to the owner about allowing the band to play by the food court area. The owner was thinking about it.  
  
Mae chuckled, blowing a few wisps of navy hair out of her eyes. She loved her friends more than anything. Angus, Gregg, and good old Bea, who was still working at the Pickaxe.  
Inexplicably, Mae's stomach fluttered as she recalled she would be hanging out with Bea the next day.  
  
Mae had always had a certain fascination with Bea. She wasn't exactly quiet. The sharp tongued girl had a lot of opinions, and she wasn't afraid to express them. She always wore intense black eyeliner, which accentuated her tendency to roll her eyes.  
  
She wondered what Bea thought about her.  
  
If she even thought about her.  
  
Mae's first female crush was in fifth grade, at Little Possum Elementary School. She was a tall girl, with broad shoulders and big hands and feet, almost like paws. Her hair was curly and fluffy, and she gave the best hugs. Mae couldn't remember much else, other than the fact that she'd stammer and blush whenever the girl tried to talk to her.  
  
Bea wasn't anything like that.  
  
Mae had no qualms about teasing her, be it a witty joke or a little shove after one of Bea's cynical remarks. After all they'd been through, it'd be difficult to still be uncomfortable around each other.  
  
Mae wondered why her heart was pounding.  
  
She yawned very suddenly. With a another prolonged sigh, she rolled over and closed her eyes.  
  
That night she dreamt of starlight.

* * *

"Mae, I swear to God, if you don't pick a goddamn taco in the next five minutes I will drag you back home by your ass"  
  
Mae snickered. "You just wanna touch my butt, don't you?"  
  
"Just pick a taco!" Bea growled, face flushing pink.  
  
The new taco place was nearly always busy, particularly in the summer. The red vinyl booths were crammed with people, and the sound of silverware against ceramic never got any quieter. On Free-For-All Fridays, the first Friday of every month where one could eat as many tacos with as many toppings as they wished for the price of 1, the line was know to trail out the door.  
  
Mae rolled her eyes. "I can't! I'm too distracted by the fact that you're getting a salad. A mother-effing _salad?"_  
  
Bea sighed and slumped into the vinyl booth, ignoring the wheeze of protest from the stuffing. "My life, my choices" she said, closing her eyes. "Wake me when you've decided"  
  
"Are you ladies ready to order?"  
  
Mae looked up and flashed her best smile. "Yes! I'll have the "Taco the Town" taco with extra sour cream, and my friend will have a salad"  
  
The waiter raised an eyebrow as he wrote down their choices, but Mae kept smiling and he promised the food would arrive shortly. As soon as he had disappeared, Mae buried her face in her arms and screamed.  
  
Bea jumped up, worried. "Mae? What's wrong? Are you dying?"  
  
Mae looked up, her lip quivering. "I just had to order a salad at a taco restaurant. My ego may never recover!" she wailed dramatically.  
  
"Oh my god. Why do I take you anywhere?" Bea groaned.  
  
"Cuz you love me!" Mae grinned, throwing her arms around her companion and squeezing her tight.  
  
"Mae, if you don't let go of me in the next three seconds, no one will find your body"  
  
Mae slumped back into her seat, crossing her arms and pouting. If she had ears, they'd have been laying flat against her blue-black hair, twitching irritably.  
  
Nothing was said for the next few minutes, and the waiter brought their food. They are in silence, something that was particularly odd for Mae.  
  
Bea swallowed another bite, frowning at her friend. "Mae?"  
  
No response. Bea's gut twisted with guilt. She forgot how annoyingly sensitive Mae could be.  
  
Then again, she'd always found that quality sort of endearing.  
  
Groaning, she slid her arm over Mae's shoulders and pulled the shorter girl in for a weak but genuine half-hug.  
  
"Come here, dork. Sorry I snapped at you" Bea muttered.  
  
Mae sighed, snuggling against Bea's smoke and sawdust scented embrace. "If you don't like me, you could just tell me" she said.  
  
"I do) like you, dumbass" Bea replied, rolling her eyes.  
  
Big reddish brown eyes met hers, painfully hopeful. "Promise?"  
  
A memory flashed through Bea's mind of the two of them, disgustingly small, playing on the paved blacktop behind Possum Elementary. Mae had fallen, a common occurrence, and scraped up her knee. Bea had fetched a Band-Aid and bestowed a kiss on the "boo-boo".  
  
"Promise you'll always take care of me?" tiny Mae had asked.  
  
Tiny Bea nodded, extending a pinkie, the nail painted with smudged, chipping black polish that she'd tried to touch up with sharpie.  
  
"Pinkie promise"  
  
"Bea?"  
  
Bea jumped back to reality, blinking. She took a breath, before offering her pinkie just as she had done so many years ago. "Pinkie promise" she said.  
  
Mae shook pinkies with her friend, looking confused. Her other hand pressed against Bea's forehead.  
  
"You feeling okay, Bea?"  
  
Bea threw her hands up in the air in defeat. "I'm trying to be cute like you, okay? We used to do pinkie swears all the time" she said, face burning.  
  
"Aw, Bea, you remember!" Mae squealed, before her face turned just as red. "You think I'm cute?"  
  
Oops.  
  
Bea swallowed, her amber eyes darting to the floor, the ceiling, Mae's half eaten taco, anywhere but Mae's eyes.  
  
"Um, yeah. Yeah, I do" she said finally, voice hoarse and reluctant.  
  
There was silence, and Bea wanted to kick herself.  
  
"Yay!"  
  
Mae's voice was so triumphant that several tables turned to glance in their direction. Bea shushed her, trying to ignore the particularly disgusted glare of an old couple who resembled rats at the nearest table.  
  
"Sorry" Mae hissed, her face glowing. "You like me, you like me, you like me!" she chanted in a sing song voice.  
  
Bea crossed her arms, trying not to smile. "Yes, goddammit. If I kiss you, will you shut up!"  
  
Mae grinned mischievously. "Maybe"  
  
Rolling her eyes again, Bea cupped Mae's face in her hands and brought their lips together for a clumsy, awkward kiss.  
  
"Oh my god, I taste salad. You've poisoned me!"

**Author's Note:**

> THESE NERDS WILL BE THE END OF ME GAH


End file.
